A Coach's Diary

Trust is the glue of life.  It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication.  It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships. - Stephen Covey I am currently reading  Hacking Leadership   by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis.  These notes were taken from Hack 3 of their book,  Build Relationships. The best coaches are great at being deliberate and intentional when it comes to building relationships with their athletes, their families, the school, the community and everybody associated with the program.   When a new coach comes in, there is usually a honeymoon period.  The new voice is exciting and refreshing and everybody works to find favor with the new coach.  Great coaches use this time to build a solid foundation of where the program is going to go and they do that by starting with relationships.  It's easy for the new coach to build momentum, but it is much harder to sustain it.  To sustain...

If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just happen naturally on its own. - Tony Hsieh I am currently reading Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis.  These notes were taken from Hack 2 of their book, Culture. Coaches must understand their impact on the culture of the team and the impact that culture has on the performance of each individual, the performance of the team and the impact it has on each person's experience.  The leader sets the tone for what happens and how it happens.  What the coach values and emphasizes will eventually permeate the entire team and gym and program.  When the coach values the athlete, their experience and their growth, the focus is exactly where it should be.   Culture is a reflection of the character of the team and the feelings and perceptions of everybody involved with the team - athletes, parents, school members, potential athletes, etc.  Confident, informed and compassionate...

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing." -  Albert Schweitzer Chapter 1 of Hacking Leadership is all about getting administrators to understand the importance of being present and engaged, visible and approachable at school.  It talks about the shift from principals being bosses managing the school from their office to being transformational leaders who are fully present in the school, building relationships with students, staff, families and the community. School leaders today must work on building relationships with all members of the school community that are rooted in trust and respect and compassion.  Strong relationships in a school, led and modeled by the principal, can take a nice school and make it an extraordinary space where excitement and passion become palpable.   Things that we can do tomorrow to become more engaged and present at school: -  Just Listen -  Ask Questions -  Make Time For ...